At Target the other day, I happened upon a truly bizarre item: a calendar of images that are the fruit of a collaboration between Celine Dion and Anne Geddes. Apparently there's also a book, with accompanying music tracks.
Now, I have never been much for cutsey decor, and so I've never really understood the appeal of Geddes's art -- you know, the babies-as-still-life-objects thing. I've also never really understood the appeal of Celine Dion (although I have seen a couple of great drag queens lipsync in homage and that was all right).
But look at these pictures (at the link above). Does anyone else find these as creepy and weird as I do? First of all, newborns are not especially pretty or cute to anyone except their biological relatives. These pics are all of babies too young to even have their eyes open. Then, she's photoshopped the images so that they appear as if they're sleeping inside flowers or other plant parts. It's all vaguely and disturbingly sexualized, yet with a crystalline veneer of "sweet innocence," as if the Sugar Plum Fairy were channelling Georgia O'Keefe.
Who buys this stuff? People who have kids surely have their own pictures of their own little darlings. So is this for people who don't have kids? If so, what is the appeal? Or is it just for OBGYN offices, baby clothing stores, or other themed settings?
11/17/2004
imho: keanu is not as bad as people think
Finally, a decent quiz answer. Yup, it's me and New Kid who are searching for meaning and trying to save the world.
And I get to wear black. Thank goodness.
the student who I can't stand
There's a student in my small class who has been sorely trying my patience all semester. I haven't blogged about her before because I'm really trying not to complain about people in any specific way . . . she spends a significant portion of her life on line (because who would be friends with her in real life?) and maybe I've been paranoid that she would somehow find me.
She is severely socially impaired, to the point that she can't recognize when other people are talking and interrupts them (and me). She claims to be ADD and she frequently twitches and does weird physical things in class. She refuses to put her desk in the circle with everybody else, and sits off to the corner. She's 28 years old and still lives with her parents. She's nerdy, to the point where she's basically a parody of nerds everywhere (and I am one, so I am allowed to say this) -- she's a big Star Trek fan, she believes in vampires, she plays role-playing games in full costume, and she writes fan fiction. Now, just to make it clear where I stand: my best friend reads and writes fan fic, many of my other friends are into Star Trek, and I used to play D&D (though not for many years). So really, I have nothing against any of those things. But put them all together in someone who is really, really irritating, and it just gives the rest of us nerds a really bad name. Plus she smells kind of bad.
So basically my plan has been to ignore her weird sucking-up comments when I walk in the room, her irrelevant self-revelations during discussion, and her many strange behaviors. Each class period, she'll make a range of comments which rarely have anything to do with the material at hand. My challenge as a teacher is then to say something intelligent that picks up some tiny little speck of idea from her blather and turn it into a coherent point about the material. I can see the other students in the class rolling their eyes when she talks, and then watching me to see what I'm going to do. But tonight it was really hard. I had a hard time keeping my face blank as I listened to the IDIOCY that came out of her mouth. I think the worst was when she was defending an example of racist 19th-century pseudo-science because she said she had a friend who underwent alternative treatment for cancer and therefore she believes in pseudo-science. WTF?
thank goodness the semester is nearly over.
She is severely socially impaired, to the point that she can't recognize when other people are talking and interrupts them (and me). She claims to be ADD and she frequently twitches and does weird physical things in class. She refuses to put her desk in the circle with everybody else, and sits off to the corner. She's 28 years old and still lives with her parents. She's nerdy, to the point where she's basically a parody of nerds everywhere (and I am one, so I am allowed to say this) -- she's a big Star Trek fan, she believes in vampires, she plays role-playing games in full costume, and she writes fan fiction. Now, just to make it clear where I stand: my best friend reads and writes fan fic, many of my other friends are into Star Trek, and I used to play D&D (though not for many years). So really, I have nothing against any of those things. But put them all together in someone who is really, really irritating, and it just gives the rest of us nerds a really bad name. Plus she smells kind of bad.
So basically my plan has been to ignore her weird sucking-up comments when I walk in the room, her irrelevant self-revelations during discussion, and her many strange behaviors. Each class period, she'll make a range of comments which rarely have anything to do with the material at hand. My challenge as a teacher is then to say something intelligent that picks up some tiny little speck of idea from her blather and turn it into a coherent point about the material. I can see the other students in the class rolling their eyes when she talks, and then watching me to see what I'm going to do. But tonight it was really hard. I had a hard time keeping my face blank as I listened to the IDIOCY that came out of her mouth. I think the worst was when she was defending an example of racist 19th-century pseudo-science because she said she had a friend who underwent alternative treatment for cancer and therefore she believes in pseudo-science. WTF?
thank goodness the semester is nearly over.
message from the universe?
My car doesn't have a CD player, so I only listen to the radio while I'm driving. I mostly have it on the 80s retro station, though I'll switch around during commercials. Anyway, my day on campus was neatly bookended: as I exited the freeway to get on the main road to campus at 11:00 this morning the Beastie Boys "Fight For Your Right (to Party)" came on the radio and I rocked out all the way to my building's parking lot. And then, at 9:20 tonight as I was pulling out of the same parking lot, the same song came on. Purely random coincidence? Message from the universe?
You wake up late for school, man you don't wanna go
You ask you mom, "Please?", but she still says, "No!"
You missed two classes, and no homework
But your teacher preaches class like you're some kind of jerk
CHORUS: You gotta fight for your right to party
Your pop caught you smoking, and he said, "No way!"
That hypocrite smokes two packs a day
Man, living at home is such a drag
Now your mom threw away your best porno mag (Bust it!)
REPEAT CHORUS
Don't step out of this house if that's the clothes you're gonna wear
I'll kick you out of my home is you don't cut that hair
Your mom busted in and said, "What's that noise?"
Aw, mom you're just jealous it's the Beastie Boys!
REPEAT CHORUS (x2)
11/16/2004
countdown
We're getting near the end of semester! I have only:
And, yes, I'm counting. Let's see, what else can I count?
- 5 more class sessions with my undergrads
- 2 more class sessions with my graduate students
And, yes, I'm counting. Let's see, what else can I count?
- 3 thesis defenses (and theses to read)
- 5 letters of recommendation to write
- 55 papers to grade
- 29 final exams
- 3 committee meetings
- 1 department meeting
- 2 department parties (one day, one evening)
11/13/2004
holiday spirit
So the holiday season is definitely here: Starbucks has their holiday drink menu available, Christmas lights are strung up in the major shopping areas, and the radio is full of ads for lawn service companies who will come and decorate your house for you if you don't want to climb ladders. The whole house-decorating thing seems to be a bigger deal around here than what I remember as a kid -- I'm not sure if it's a regional difference, the urban/smaller town difference, or simply a larger consumer shift over the past 30-some years. Growing up, only a few houses in my neighborhood put some lights in the yard. There was a house a few blocks away with a big picture window in the front -- they always placed a huge mechanical Santa and a big tree in the window so you could drive past and see it.
The major decorating on our street won't start until Thanksgiving weekend, when our across the way neighbors will take down their "Harvest" and "Thanksgiving" decorations and begin the construction of a tinselly Nativity and flashing-light extravaganza. During December we can always easily give directions to anyone who cares to visit us, simply by pointing out their yard. In fact, if you wanted to visit us by helicopter you could probably land via their lights. It's truly astounding. They're a retired couple, and keep their yard decorated year round, with seasonally appropriate stuff: Valentines, Easter, July 4th, Halloween, etc etc. But Xmas is when they go all out.
We don't put any lights in our yard. Mostly because we just don't have that much extra time/energy to bother. We can barely keep the yard clean and mowed, much less decorated. But I do like looking at other people's lights. The little kid in me is still excited by them.
I grew up in a non-religious and not even nominally Christian household. We did have a Christmas tree for a few years, initially because my brother really wanted it -- he wanted to be like the other kids, for a change. But our whole family kinda got into the aesthetics of it: picking lights and ornaments that seemed tasteful, pretty, or meaningful to us.
As an adult, I didn't do anything for Christmas -- the day of, I'd usually go out to a movie with some friends, maybe eat Chinese food. Or just take a walk in the park, read a good book, and wait til the world returned to normal the next day. I was comfortable with that. It's not my tradition, so I didn't feel like I was missing something. Though it can be a weird day to be alone, even so.
But my partner grew up in a Christian family, and she really, really loves Christmas. More so than anyone I've ever known. And experiencing the season through her eyes is really joyful. She loves Christmas movies, holiday music, the whole bit. Last year I surprised her one night by going out and getting a little artificial tree (the 3-foot tabletop size is all our tiny house can handle) and some lights & ornaments. It was a really great experience to see her face when she came home and we had Christmas in the house. It will be fun to pull out that stuff in a couple of weeks and set it up again.
Today was the first day that felt a little holidayish. We ordered our vegan Thanksgiving meal from the health food place (although I like to cook, we make it a real holiday for both of us by having someone else cook for a change!); we stopped by Starbucks and indulged in fancy soy drinks; and my girlfriend's been humming holiday music. All of that stuff I used to scoff at now makes me happy, since it makes my partner so happy. We're looking forward to the end of our respective semesters, and being able to hang out, go to the movies, and pursue our creative projects. I feel fortunate that we've been able to create relatively stress-free ways of spending the holiday season. The fall semester is always such a bear to get through, that it's nice to have something to really look forward to at the end of it.
The major decorating on our street won't start until Thanksgiving weekend, when our across the way neighbors will take down their "Harvest" and "Thanksgiving" decorations and begin the construction of a tinselly Nativity and flashing-light extravaganza. During December we can always easily give directions to anyone who cares to visit us, simply by pointing out their yard. In fact, if you wanted to visit us by helicopter you could probably land via their lights. It's truly astounding. They're a retired couple, and keep their yard decorated year round, with seasonally appropriate stuff: Valentines, Easter, July 4th, Halloween, etc etc. But Xmas is when they go all out.
We don't put any lights in our yard. Mostly because we just don't have that much extra time/energy to bother. We can barely keep the yard clean and mowed, much less decorated. But I do like looking at other people's lights. The little kid in me is still excited by them.
I grew up in a non-religious and not even nominally Christian household. We did have a Christmas tree for a few years, initially because my brother really wanted it -- he wanted to be like the other kids, for a change. But our whole family kinda got into the aesthetics of it: picking lights and ornaments that seemed tasteful, pretty, or meaningful to us.
As an adult, I didn't do anything for Christmas -- the day of, I'd usually go out to a movie with some friends, maybe eat Chinese food. Or just take a walk in the park, read a good book, and wait til the world returned to normal the next day. I was comfortable with that. It's not my tradition, so I didn't feel like I was missing something. Though it can be a weird day to be alone, even so.
But my partner grew up in a Christian family, and she really, really loves Christmas. More so than anyone I've ever known. And experiencing the season through her eyes is really joyful. She loves Christmas movies, holiday music, the whole bit. Last year I surprised her one night by going out and getting a little artificial tree (the 3-foot tabletop size is all our tiny house can handle) and some lights & ornaments. It was a really great experience to see her face when she came home and we had Christmas in the house. It will be fun to pull out that stuff in a couple of weeks and set it up again.
Today was the first day that felt a little holidayish. We ordered our vegan Thanksgiving meal from the health food place (although I like to cook, we make it a real holiday for both of us by having someone else cook for a change!); we stopped by Starbucks and indulged in fancy soy drinks; and my girlfriend's been humming holiday music. All of that stuff I used to scoff at now makes me happy, since it makes my partner so happy. We're looking forward to the end of our respective semesters, and being able to hang out, go to the movies, and pursue our creative projects. I feel fortunate that we've been able to create relatively stress-free ways of spending the holiday season. The fall semester is always such a bear to get through, that it's nice to have something to really look forward to at the end of it.
elliptical posting
Now that the weather is turning colder, our house is occasionally visited by various outdoor creatures (insects, reptiles, mammals) who are seeking warm shelter. There is one here with me in my study, but I can't remove him/her without doing it harm. (Or myself, since it would involve a ladder etc). I can't be more specific about my visitor without revealing key facts about my geographic location. All I can do is type at the computer and hope that my visitor finds his way out soon. The back door is open a bit so the dogs can go in and out. I'm assuming that's how he/she got in.
While I typed the first paragraph, he/she disappeared from view. But is probably still in the room somewhere.
The visitor is not dangerous in any way. Or threatening, or disgusting. So I'm happy to share my warm room for a while.
While I typed the first paragraph, he/she disappeared from view. But is probably still in the room somewhere.
The visitor is not dangerous in any way. Or threatening, or disgusting. So I'm happy to share my warm room for a while.
11/12/2004
Unravelling week
I really needed this day off. Caught up a bit on sleep (I've been running a terrible deficit), went out to lunch with my gf, went to the public library, finished watching a movie, puttered around. It was a really, really long & tiring week. Not so terrible in terms of what I had to do, but this was what I think of as Unravelling week. It happens every semester, around this time -- all of a sudden, the stresses of real life start showing up in the classroom. Some students figure out that they're not really going to make it through the rest of the term, and need to arrange for a "special case" withdrawal. Some just want to come and talk to me about their problems, because now they know me well enough. Some want to explain, to apologize, to let me know that it isn't my fault they're not in class.
In the past week, I talked with the following students: one woman who I've taught for 3 semesters needs to withdraw from class because her marriage is falling apart and she can't concentrate; a young man has to miss class next week because of a liver biopsy -- his kidneys and liver are failing and the doctors don't know why; another's car was totalled and he may lose his job without transportation; a young woman is having trouble with her citizenship application because she and her mother got evicted from their apartment; another is being stalked and is trying to arrange for police protection while traveling to campus. And these are the students who explain their absences and distractions. I know for every one who talks to me, there are others who don't, but are also dealing with sick children or parents, addictions, legal issues, health concerns, and all kinds of other things.
This is the week when the sobering reality of my students' very full lives always hits home. Where does studying literature fit into all of that? I had such an easier time of things when I was in college. I worked, and I studied. But I didn't have a full-time job, or a baby, or any of the other things my students are juggling. Yes, I want them to fulfill the requirements of my course -- that's the educational contract I've set up in the syllabus. But when they don't, or can't, I'm perfectly happy to grant them the withdraw-pass. And to wish them well.
Most of my students have chosen to be literature majors. That's an increasingly unusual choice at this urban university, in an age of professional specialization. They're in my class for a reason. I can't always see what it is, or imagine what my class might mean to them, given their life situations. But the same reasons that make teaching adults difficult or frustrating (they can't always come to class; they can't always turn things in on time) are also what bring some of the greatest satisfaction. Two weeks ago, a student I'd taught several years ago came by to ask if I'd write a lettter for her law school application. She said, among other things, that the novels I'd taught in that women's studies course helped her to think about who she wanted to be. Helped her finish college (the first in her family to ever attend college), become the manager of her retail store, and now seek a professional degree. Literature and the world of ideas can make a difference. I know that sounds corny. But I see it all the time in my students. And those are the stories I try to hang on to when the sadder stories seem overwhelming.
In the past week, I talked with the following students: one woman who I've taught for 3 semesters needs to withdraw from class because her marriage is falling apart and she can't concentrate; a young man has to miss class next week because of a liver biopsy -- his kidneys and liver are failing and the doctors don't know why; another's car was totalled and he may lose his job without transportation; a young woman is having trouble with her citizenship application because she and her mother got evicted from their apartment; another is being stalked and is trying to arrange for police protection while traveling to campus. And these are the students who explain their absences and distractions. I know for every one who talks to me, there are others who don't, but are also dealing with sick children or parents, addictions, legal issues, health concerns, and all kinds of other things.
This is the week when the sobering reality of my students' very full lives always hits home. Where does studying literature fit into all of that? I had such an easier time of things when I was in college. I worked, and I studied. But I didn't have a full-time job, or a baby, or any of the other things my students are juggling. Yes, I want them to fulfill the requirements of my course -- that's the educational contract I've set up in the syllabus. But when they don't, or can't, I'm perfectly happy to grant them the withdraw-pass. And to wish them well.
Most of my students have chosen to be literature majors. That's an increasingly unusual choice at this urban university, in an age of professional specialization. They're in my class for a reason. I can't always see what it is, or imagine what my class might mean to them, given their life situations. But the same reasons that make teaching adults difficult or frustrating (they can't always come to class; they can't always turn things in on time) are also what bring some of the greatest satisfaction. Two weeks ago, a student I'd taught several years ago came by to ask if I'd write a lettter for her law school application. She said, among other things, that the novels I'd taught in that women's studies course helped her to think about who she wanted to be. Helped her finish college (the first in her family to ever attend college), become the manager of her retail store, and now seek a professional degree. Literature and the world of ideas can make a difference. I know that sounds corny. But I see it all the time in my students. And those are the stories I try to hang on to when the sadder stories seem overwhelming.
11/11/2004
pictures and individual voices
BitchPhd pointed me to Sorry Everybody, which is a fascinating site. People from around the world have submitted photos of themselves holding up signs/texts: lots of Americans saying "sorry" to the world and expressing regrets about the outcome of the election; but also photos from people in other nations saying "sorry" to Americans, in the sense of "with sympathy." There are hundreds of pictures on the site, and I find it a very powerful use of the web to try and create a sense of global community. Much more than just a text-based message board, these images of individuals underscore their written words with a sense of the real, of authenticity. As theorists of photography rarely tire of pointing out, photography creates an effect of authenticity, even when we know intellectually that the image is always the object of creative decisions, and of subconscious and/or intentional manipulation. There's also something very effective in the repetition of the simple word "sorry," and its double meaning.
Obviously, the site just collects the symbolic gestures of individuals -- I can imagine critiques of it that would argue it's ultimately ineffectual because it doesn't take the conversation any further. Yet there is something encouraging in looking into all these faces of people who share at least some points of view -- and more prominent in these photos, share some emotions. I've never seen so many pictures of people making "sad" faces. Staged, yes. But effective.
Obviously, the site just collects the symbolic gestures of individuals -- I can imagine critiques of it that would argue it's ultimately ineffectual because it doesn't take the conversation any further. Yet there is something encouraging in looking into all these faces of people who share at least some points of view -- and more prominent in these photos, share some emotions. I've never seen so many pictures of people making "sad" faces. Staged, yes. But effective.
11/10/2004
lateness
I am now going to have to Jump in the the shower, Throw on clothes, Drive quickly to campus in order to Hurriedly finish a Meaningless Administrative Task for my noon meeting. Crap. crap. crap. I actually got up early enough this morning to get to school with plenty of time. But then I hung around with my honey and the dogs, and then Error of Errors I started catching up on blogs. I don't get to read any on Tuesdays because I am embroiled in teaching prep & teaching for approximately 13 hours. By the time I get home all I can do is crash on the couch.
As it is I've barely read any (why are you all so prolific?) and don't have anything to say on my own except this ridiculous whine. Won't get to read blogs again (there's got to be a special verb for that, right? since "to blog" means writing) until late tonight. Sigh. That pesky job thing keeps getting in the way.
I'm definitely wearing jeans and boots today. That will at least give me some kick-ass attitude.
off I go.
As it is I've barely read any (why are you all so prolific?) and don't have anything to say on my own except this ridiculous whine. Won't get to read blogs again (there's got to be a special verb for that, right? since "to blog" means writing) until late tonight. Sigh. That pesky job thing keeps getting in the way.
I'm definitely wearing jeans and boots today. That will at least give me some kick-ass attitude.
off I go.
11/09/2004
best decision so far this week
Since last Wednesday, I've had to go to the vet twice (with two different dogs, one for annual shots and the other for a more troubling vomiting issue), take my car in (for oil change), and my car is now scheduled for more major work for later in this week. And I was supposed to go to the dentist this Wednesday. So I postponed the dentist. There's only so much life maintenance I can handle in a ten day period. Whew.
But my honey is back at home! since 4:30 this a.m. So maybe life will start to return to its regular groove.
Now, if I were a betting person, given the weather and the time of semester, I would predict that approximately one-third of my students will not show up for class today, and that of those who are there, about one-third will not have done the reading. Let's hope I'm wrong.
But my honey is back at home! since 4:30 this a.m. So maybe life will start to return to its regular groove.
Now, if I were a betting person, given the weather and the time of semester, I would predict that approximately one-third of my students will not show up for class today, and that of those who are there, about one-third will not have done the reading. Let's hope I'm wrong.
11/08/2004
coming out as a wrimo
Yup, I'm doing it. I signed on to National Novel Writing Month on Oct 31st, just in time to start when the month officially began on Nov 1st. My best friend is also doing it, and her supportive enthusiasm helped me decide to take the plunge.
So I've been writing for a week on my novel. I'm a bit behind on my word count, which is ALL that matters in nanowrimo -- your goal, along with thousands of other people, is to reach 50,000 words by the end of November. But I'm doing it. And it's been great.
It's immensely freeing to just write, with no concerns for revision, for argument, for audience -- just to be doing something that is enjoyable for me. There are so many forces in our culture that want to curtail our innate human creativity. In the 19th century, for instance, everyone in the middle class and above, and a large number of people in the working classes, sang and/or played an instrument. That was just something you did for entertainment when you were by yourself, and especially when you were with other people. Today, some schools still retain music education (although it's frequently dropped when budgets get tight), but many people give it up by the time they reach adulthood. We are a nation of avid consumers of music, but we're told again and again that it's not something you could actually play/do yourself, unless you're really good, unless you want to make a career of it. So many of us (myself included) insist "oh, I can't sing." Well I don't believe that everyone in the 19thc necessarily could sing perfectly on-pitch -- but they believed it was something they could do if they liked to.
I have no dreams of becoming a Great Novelist. But if I want to spend some time writing because it is fun, because it wakes up my inner creative self who sometimes goes into sloth mode -- then why not.
It's also been really interesting to compare the feeling of this writing process with my academic writing. It's completely different. There's no pausing to reflect, to edit -- the idea is just to crank out as many words as you can in a month. And then, if you want, you can go back and edit, or extend it, or whatever. So I actually think it might have some freeing effects on my other writing too.
Why didn't I blog about it right away? I think I wanted to make sure I was going to move forward with it. But there was still that nagging voice that I'm trying to ignore, the one that says "your very few blog readers are mostly academics, and they will think you are wasting your time" or "your writing support group reads your blog and THEY will think you are wasting time" or "you're not really a writer, so why are you doing this."
That's the voice that is fast disappearing, every time I sit down and dream up another 1000 words. So yeah, it's worth it. Will I make 50,000? I hope so. Even if I don't, I feel like it's been a great experience already.
11/07/2004
must. stop. reading. blogs.
I must grade. If I grade, then I get to watch a movie. I have several DVDs from Netflix at the moment. That ought to be a big enough carrot. But no, I've been poking around the blogosphere instead, during what was supposed to be a 5 minute "just check email" break.
11/06/2004
tech time capsule
As much as my blog is sometimes a communication tool, sometimes a kind of journal, sometimes just a place to stash my stray thoughts, it is also a kind of time capsule -- for myself in the future, as well as anyone else who wonders what life was like for some individuals in 2004. (Shout-out to the anthropologists of 2050!)
Earlier this week, I went to change our cell plan -- excuse me, wireless plan (as I date myself perpetually in my language) -- so my honey and I would have nation-wide free minutes to each other. Because now all the stuff you used to have to pay extra for comes as part of the basic package. So I changed our Old Basic package to New Basic -- same price, way more stuff. But in the process we also had to upgrade both of our phones, because they were too old to handle the new wireless technology. (That was fine since one of them was ancient and barely worked anyway.) So we have new flip phones that are loads of fun. I always just get the free phone, the basic thing they are giving away -- I don't care enough about it to spend extra money on a phone. But because the pace of technology changes faster and faster all the time, today's giveaway phone seems pretty cool to me.
So now we've started Mel's Cell Phone Museum: now housing my first cell, which then became my gf's when we went in together on a "family" plan, and my second one, now relegated to artifact status. Who knows what we'll have in a few years...
Anyway, it got me thinking about my personal technology timeline. When I was a kid, we'd ask my parents to tell us about life before TV -- aside from stories about listening to WWII reports on the radio, they were annoyingly vague about the impact of technological change on their lives. They weren't early adopters of anything, and so my childhood experiences lagged behind many of my peers'. For my generation, we've already been through so many significant tech developments that it's already hard for me to keep track of them. So here's my start at my own timeline, part of my personal time capsule:
1982 I get my first "serious" stereo: separate components. A turntable, a single-deck cassette deck, a receiver, and speakers. The receiver is still in use in my living room today.
1983 I take two semesters of typing class in high school, where we learn on electric typewriters. I know how to calculate space for footnotes and use carbon paper. Erasing technology involved those little sheets of white powder on a plastic backing that you would place under the strike area to cover a mistake with white.
1985 I get a Walkman clone.
1985 I am given an electric typewriter for my high school graduation present. Until that time, all the typewriters in the house (3) were manuals. My parents continued to use manuals for several more years.
1988 I sign up for an account at the computer lab at my university, and learn the Word Perfect function commands. I have a plastic box to carry my 5 1/4-inch floppy disks to and fro. My senior thesis is the first thing I ever word processed on a computer, but I wrote it all in longhand draft first.
1990 Sick of writing long papers in crowded labs at my first graduate institution, I get my first computer: a Compaq laptop with a 486 processor running MS-DOS. It comes with a 2-inch thick manual that allows me to learn anything I want to know about DOS. I liked that. I now use 3 1/2 inch hard floppy disks.
1990 I'm living in cramped quarters, with most of my stuff in storage. I get a "boom box" that has a CD player. I begin to buy CDs rather than LPs.
1991 I get my first email account. I use PINE. I get an external modem. I wish I could remember how slow it was.
1992 I get a CD player component for my "good" stereo.
1993 I get a new Winbook laptop running Windows 3.1. It has a faster dial-up modem built in.
1995? I get my first cordless phone. Now I can wash dishes and talk to my friends at the same time. I soon invest in a headset attachment to ease the crick in my neck.
1995? I get a CD portable player for the gym.
1996 I am an early adopter of the PalmPilot: I get a 1000 model within a month of their release in March. This is probably the only device I've ever known instantly that it would change my life for the better. It did. For several years, people would stop me whenever I used it and ask me what it was.
1997 I get a new desktop PC running Windows 95. I get an external zip drive.
1998 In preparation for moving across the country, I give my turntable and 3 crates of LPs to a good friend who's an enthusiast. I hadn't listened to an LP in several years.
1998 Bypassing my university's crappy modem pool, I sign up with my first commercial ISP.
1999 I get my first TV and VCR.
2000 I get my first cell phone.
2001 My partner brings a DVD player into our new joint household.
2001 We get a Gamecube game console because the guy at Toys R Us told us he'd have some at about midnight on Dec 23.
2002 I get a new desktop computer running Windows XP. A faster dial-up modem.
2002 I get a new Palm, the m130. My original PalmPilot still works, but I wanted some enhanced functionality and some new software that wouldn't run on the old OS.
2002 I get my second cell phone, about 1 inch smaller than the first.
2004 We get DSL at our house and I fall in love with the Internet all over again.
2004 I get an MP3 player. I still listen to music in the old style, however, album by album, rather than mixing up songs. (Mostly.)
2004 My third cell phone, now a trim little flip model.
******
Thank goodness for Wikipedia, since I had to check names and release dates of some of these things to confirm my memories. As you can tell, I'm hardly technologically advanced about anything (although I've been doing informal tech support for my colleagues for years). The PalmPilot is the only thing I've ever gotten right away when it came out.
Earlier this week, I went to change our cell plan -- excuse me, wireless plan (as I date myself perpetually in my language) -- so my honey and I would have nation-wide free minutes to each other. Because now all the stuff you used to have to pay extra for comes as part of the basic package. So I changed our Old Basic package to New Basic -- same price, way more stuff. But in the process we also had to upgrade both of our phones, because they were too old to handle the new wireless technology. (That was fine since one of them was ancient and barely worked anyway.) So we have new flip phones that are loads of fun. I always just get the free phone, the basic thing they are giving away -- I don't care enough about it to spend extra money on a phone. But because the pace of technology changes faster and faster all the time, today's giveaway phone seems pretty cool to me.
So now we've started Mel's Cell Phone Museum: now housing my first cell, which then became my gf's when we went in together on a "family" plan, and my second one, now relegated to artifact status. Who knows what we'll have in a few years...
Anyway, it got me thinking about my personal technology timeline. When I was a kid, we'd ask my parents to tell us about life before TV -- aside from stories about listening to WWII reports on the radio, they were annoyingly vague about the impact of technological change on their lives. They weren't early adopters of anything, and so my childhood experiences lagged behind many of my peers'. For my generation, we've already been through so many significant tech developments that it's already hard for me to keep track of them. So here's my start at my own timeline, part of my personal time capsule:
1982 I get my first "serious" stereo: separate components. A turntable, a single-deck cassette deck, a receiver, and speakers. The receiver is still in use in my living room today.
1983 I take two semesters of typing class in high school, where we learn on electric typewriters. I know how to calculate space for footnotes and use carbon paper. Erasing technology involved those little sheets of white powder on a plastic backing that you would place under the strike area to cover a mistake with white.
1985 I get a Walkman clone.
1985 I am given an electric typewriter for my high school graduation present. Until that time, all the typewriters in the house (3) were manuals. My parents continued to use manuals for several more years.
1988 I sign up for an account at the computer lab at my university, and learn the Word Perfect function commands. I have a plastic box to carry my 5 1/4-inch floppy disks to and fro. My senior thesis is the first thing I ever word processed on a computer, but I wrote it all in longhand draft first.
1990 Sick of writing long papers in crowded labs at my first graduate institution, I get my first computer: a Compaq laptop with a 486 processor running MS-DOS. It comes with a 2-inch thick manual that allows me to learn anything I want to know about DOS. I liked that. I now use 3 1/2 inch hard floppy disks.
1990 I'm living in cramped quarters, with most of my stuff in storage. I get a "boom box" that has a CD player. I begin to buy CDs rather than LPs.
1991 I get my first email account. I use PINE. I get an external modem. I wish I could remember how slow it was.
1992 I get a CD player component for my "good" stereo.
1993 I get a new Winbook laptop running Windows 3.1. It has a faster dial-up modem built in.
1995? I get my first cordless phone. Now I can wash dishes and talk to my friends at the same time. I soon invest in a headset attachment to ease the crick in my neck.
1995? I get a CD portable player for the gym.
1996 I am an early adopter of the PalmPilot: I get a 1000 model within a month of their release in March. This is probably the only device I've ever known instantly that it would change my life for the better. It did. For several years, people would stop me whenever I used it and ask me what it was.
1997 I get a new desktop PC running Windows 95. I get an external zip drive.
1998 In preparation for moving across the country, I give my turntable and 3 crates of LPs to a good friend who's an enthusiast. I hadn't listened to an LP in several years.
1998 Bypassing my university's crappy modem pool, I sign up with my first commercial ISP.
1999 I get my first TV and VCR.
2000 I get my first cell phone.
2001 My partner brings a DVD player into our new joint household.
2001 We get a Gamecube game console because the guy at Toys R Us told us he'd have some at about midnight on Dec 23.
2002 I get a new desktop computer running Windows XP. A faster dial-up modem.
2002 I get a new Palm, the m130. My original PalmPilot still works, but I wanted some enhanced functionality and some new software that wouldn't run on the old OS.
2002 I get my second cell phone, about 1 inch smaller than the first.
2004 We get DSL at our house and I fall in love with the Internet all over again.
2004 I get an MP3 player. I still listen to music in the old style, however, album by album, rather than mixing up songs. (Mostly.)
2004 My third cell phone, now a trim little flip model.
******
Thank goodness for Wikipedia, since I had to check names and release dates of some of these things to confirm my memories. As you can tell, I'm hardly technologically advanced about anything (although I've been doing informal tech support for my colleagues for years). The PalmPilot is the only thing I've ever gotten right away when it came out.
what will the weekend bring
My partner is out of town this weekend for work-related reasons. Fri-Tues makes it the longest time she's been away since we've been together. I've had to go out of town for longer spells, and her work schedule last summer meant that we only saw each other for an hour or two a day, which is almost like being out of town, but not exactly. So we've been apart before, but it's different for me to be the one alone in the house. Not entirely alone, of course -- the dogs are happy to snuggle in bed with me, especially since the weather has turned colder.
Before we moved in together, I lived alone for many years. I'm good at being alone. Or at least I was. It was a huge adjustment for both of us to live with someone else. And, frankly, for me to live with a dog (we had just one at first, before we adopted the puppy). I didn't know that I loved dogs -- I'd grown up with cats, who have a completely different way of being in the world. J, our older dog, deserves all the credit for teaching me the wonders of dogs. Seriously, she really changed my life. But when you live with dogs, you're never really alone. They want to be with you all the time, they're delighted when you walk in the door, they give you lots of attention. The first six months we lived together, I actually found it kind of overwhelming, being the introvert that I am. Now I find it comforting, and can't imagine living without the dogs.
But it will be interesting to be on my own for a few days.
Before we moved in together, I lived alone for many years. I'm good at being alone. Or at least I was. It was a huge adjustment for both of us to live with someone else. And, frankly, for me to live with a dog (we had just one at first, before we adopted the puppy). I didn't know that I loved dogs -- I'd grown up with cats, who have a completely different way of being in the world. J, our older dog, deserves all the credit for teaching me the wonders of dogs. Seriously, she really changed my life. But when you live with dogs, you're never really alone. They want to be with you all the time, they're delighted when you walk in the door, they give you lots of attention. The first six months we lived together, I actually found it kind of overwhelming, being the introvert that I am. Now I find it comforting, and can't imagine living without the dogs.
But it will be interesting to be on my own for a few days.
11/03/2004
scattered thoughts
It was oddly comforting to go into campus today, since most of my colleagues were equally depressed.
I never really thought we'd win. And yet I'm feeling down. I'm glad it was as close as it was, at least in some states. That suggests that there is some basis for trying to do the serious work that the left needs to do in this country. But what I've found especially depressing is all the bullshit about moral values. All this spin, now, to try and divert attention away from the global and economic issues.
I vote every year. I wonder what this will do to all those people who voted for the first time this year. Will they shrug and turn away from the process? Will they try to get involved? Can we get a new process? (Since I'm not so thrilled with what the Democratic party's been offering us lately.)
When I voted on Tues, there was a guy there who was very confused about how to do each step of the process -- he was next to me at the check-in table, and then in an e-booth next to me asking for help from the attendant. He was 56 years old and had never voted before. He voted for Kerry. What's he going to do now? I fear that all that vaunted increase in voter turnout is just going to dissipate.
I never really thought we'd win. And yet I'm feeling down. I'm glad it was as close as it was, at least in some states. That suggests that there is some basis for trying to do the serious work that the left needs to do in this country. But what I've found especially depressing is all the bullshit about moral values. All this spin, now, to try and divert attention away from the global and economic issues.
I vote every year. I wonder what this will do to all those people who voted for the first time this year. Will they shrug and turn away from the process? Will they try to get involved? Can we get a new process? (Since I'm not so thrilled with what the Democratic party's been offering us lately.)
When I voted on Tues, there was a guy there who was very confused about how to do each step of the process -- he was next to me at the check-in table, and then in an e-booth next to me asking for help from the attendant. He was 56 years old and had never voted before. He voted for Kerry. What's he going to do now? I fear that all that vaunted increase in voter turnout is just going to dissipate.
ergh.
I'm wiped out from a long crappy-mediocre day of teaching yesterday. My pessimism about the election is getting confirmed more and more by the hour. I could only watch the coverage last night in snippets, it was just too frustrating. I have horrible cramps. (Yeah, that's probably more personal than I usually get on this blog but somehow it seems fitting that I'm nauseous, in pain, and cranky today.) And, I have to meet with my chair because you know that administrative job I turned down in May? Well, they're turning on the pressure to try and get me to do it.
Now, I know I could be a starving orphan in a war-torn country and I should just stop feeling so miserable. But I'm just not real chipper today.
Now, I know I could be a starving orphan in a war-torn country and I should just stop feeling so miserable. But I'm just not real chipper today.
11/02/2004
vegan brownies
OK, since Julie & Profgrrrl asked, here's my recipe for vegan brownies. (From Louise Hagler's Tofu Cookery)
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Whisk together in a saucepan, until there are no lumps:
1/3 cup unbleached white flour
2/3 cup water
Whip in:
1/2 lb tofu, blended until smooth and creamy (HINT: it works best with "silken" style tofu which is already the consistency of yogurt or heavy cream; if not available, get soft or very soft tofu and blend it with a tiny bit of water in blender/food processor)
Stir constantly over low heat until thickened. Cool completely.
To the cooled mixture, add:
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
Beat well.
In another bowl mix together:
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup oil
Add to the other ingredients and stir well.
Mix together:
1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1 scant tsp baking powder
Add this to the mixture above and stir until there are no lumps. Bake in a well-oiled and floured 10" square pan for 25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cut into 12 brownies.
For cake-like brownies, increase baking powder to 2 teaspoons and bake for 20 minutes.
*******************
This is one of my never-fails-to-impress-the-carnivores recipes.
If you haven't ever baked with tofu, it's worth a try even if you're not vegan. It creates very moist baked goods.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Whisk together in a saucepan, until there are no lumps:
1/3 cup unbleached white flour
2/3 cup water
Whip in:
1/2 lb tofu, blended until smooth and creamy (HINT: it works best with "silken" style tofu which is already the consistency of yogurt or heavy cream; if not available, get soft or very soft tofu and blend it with a tiny bit of water in blender/food processor)
Stir constantly over low heat until thickened. Cool completely.
To the cooled mixture, add:
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
Beat well.
In another bowl mix together:
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup oil
Add to the other ingredients and stir well.
Mix together:
1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1 scant tsp baking powder
Add this to the mixture above and stir until there are no lumps. Bake in a well-oiled and floured 10" square pan for 25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cut into 12 brownies.
For cake-like brownies, increase baking powder to 2 teaspoons and bake for 20 minutes.
*******************
This is one of my never-fails-to-impress-the-carnivores recipes.
If you haven't ever baked with tofu, it's worth a try even if you're not vegan. It creates very moist baked goods.
11/01/2004
rainy
This is one of those days that makes me really happy to not always have to go to the office. If I had a weather pixie, she'd be dripping and gloomy looking. Woke up to thunderstorms this morning, decided I'd work at home. A good day to over-caffeinate, get my teaching prep done, even do some writing. That is, if I can tear myself away from the internet.
Republican operatives exposed
This is disturbing but also hilarious. Republican operatives tried to disguise themselves as gay Kerry supporters in Florida to try to turn voters away from Kerry. They were exposed in part because they were dressed like Republicans.
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